Sappor-oh-my!

The best part about having friends and family visit me here in Japan is that I get to play tour guide and show off my city--in this case Tokyo--and my obviously extensive and amazing knowledge about it. Every so often, however, having friends and family visit means I get the opportunity to visit someplace I've never been before, in which case the trip means I get to show off how well I can use Google and read signs in train stations (both of which, I would argue, are valuable skills).

My mom, who came out for a long weekend, and I decided to spend a few days in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido. We found some fairly inexpensive flights, booked a hotel, and thought the matter done and dusted. But only a few days after making all our arrangements, Hokkaido was rocked by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that left at least 30 people dead and the entire island without power or water for several days. But after carefully monitoring the situation, and checking-in with the local U.S. consulate, we decided that the trip would still be a "go."

We got into the city from New Chitose Airport without any problems. The next day, since the weather decided to cooperate, we headed out to Moerenuma Park, a former landfill converted into a municipal park by noted architect and artist Isamu Noguchi. (Fun fact: he has a Yale connection! He designed "The Garden" in the Beinecke plaza!)

Moerenuma Park might have been a bit of a pain to get to (involving a train and then a bus that only came once an hour), but it was amazing. No description can really do it justice: the play between man-made and natural formations, of geometry, geography, materials, and perspective are just mind-blowing.

So here are just a bunch of photos:

Other travel highlights included wandering through the section of Odori Park not congested with Sapporo's food-themed Fall Fest...

The Sapporo TV Tower!

...catching the tail-end of a Japanese-Russian (we think) wedding at Hokkaido Shrine...

The funniest thing was watching other tourists take photos "with" the wedding party!

...learning about how brutal life was for migrant fishermen was at the Historic Village of Hokkaido...

Each fisherman worked for three months, April-June and rented one single tatami mat, where they slept. There were two rows of 25 men in this house, all living together. 

The women who cooked and cleaned for them slept in this isolated second-floor room. The ladder would be pulled up after them at night to prevent them from being assaulted. 

This is a native Hokkaido pony named Riki (which means "power") who pulls a little replica streetcar!

...and drink-- I mean learning about!-- beer at the Sapporo Beer Museum.

Our two days in Sapporo flew by, filled as they were with excellent company (hi, Mom!), amazing sights, and delicious food/coffee. All-in-all, I would love to visit again to check out some of the sights that couldn't fit into our too-short trip, and hopefully find a way to see more of the lush Hokkaido countryside.

Till next time, Sapporo!